Allies and Rivals III
This fic happens after Allies and Rivals II: Commander and the Leader. But reading that fic and my other fics is not necessary for understanding or enjoying this fic. There are references to my other fics, notablyAllies and Rivalsand Allies and Rivals II. However, the only thing that needs to be understood in this was that a certain Dr William Edwards was the one who recreated the Rowdyruff Boys, not Him, after they were first destroyed by the girls by being kissed, and under his guidance, they were not evil anymore. And they were in alliance with the girls, called the Ruff Puff Alliance, with Blossom and Brick alternating as leader.
Summary:The Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys race against time to prevent an evil from escaping to this world. Who are your true friends, allies, and enemies?
Disclaimer:I don't own the Powerpuff Girls or their characters. The Powerpuff Girls are owned by Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. I only own my own characters, the most prominent of which is Dr Edwards.
Chapter IX
Captivity
A. To Kill or Not to Kill? That is the Question!
The City of Townsville, and the Rowdyruff Boys had just defeated the Powerpuff Girls in a fight.
The boys were slowly flying towards home, each carrying his female counterpart. The boys were wounded, hurt, and tired. They have cuts all over their body. Boomer's twisted ankle still hurt very much, and it took all his willpower not to scream, though the pained expression on his face indicated his discomfort. Brick and Butch were hurt less than Boomer, but still hurt a lot. And all three ruffs were very very weak, as a lot of their energy and strength were drained by the fight.
But at least they won, and they were not the one unconscious and being carried away.
Still, with their condition, their clothes, remarkably, was intact, with no damage whatsoever. It wasn't the same hardetal clothes that acted at the same time as armor that they wore four years ago when they fought against Ckracknow. No, the materials on their clothes, invented by Professor Utonium, were weaker in that it provided no protection to the wearer from physical blows, but it was very tough would not be destroyed by the same blows.
The boys' jeans and T-shirts were bloodstained. As for the girls, for some reason, it was noticeably cleaner. From Buttercup's jeans and T-shirt, to Bubbles' white blouse tucked in under an ankle-length jumper dress—Butch was amazed at how Bubbles was able to fight effectively and freely wearing such clothes—and Blossom's pink T shirt and knee-length skirt.
The boys were silent as they approached their house. When they entered, Dr. Edwards greeted them at the living room. He went and inspected the girls.
"Are they dead?" he asked.
"No. But they'll be out for a long time," said Brick.
"Why didn't you kill them?" asked Dr. Edwards.
"There isn't any need to," said Brick.
"Then you haven't yet completed your mission," said Dr. Edwards.
"But Dad, you said that they should be eliminated as a threat. Now, look at them! They aren't a threat anymore," Brick argued back. "You didn't say eliminate them as persons."
"Look boy, as long as they are alive, they are a threat!" Dr. Edwards, frustrated, raising his voice, nearly shouted.
Brick was taken aback but stood his ground. "Not if we can detain them!"
"Please Dad, don't make us kill them!" Boomer pleaded. "We can't just do it! I mean, they're our friends for the last four years! They saved our hides many many times! What kind of gratitude would this show?"
"Listen, we also have saved them many times too, so we're even," said Dr. Edwards.
"But we just can't!" Boomer insisted.
"Are you saying that you won't finish them?" asked Dr. Edwards.
"Not on our own accord we won't," said Butch. "Look, Dad, I never ever once in my life liked any of the girls! And I still don't like them! But—but, I don't like them dead! It would be too shameful, if we did that! We would be worse than Mojo, and that's saying a lot!"
"After all I did to you as a father, this is the gratitude you're going to show me?" Dr. Edwards growled. "I want them dead, but if you're going to show me why I'm better off with them alive, then please tell me! Then I may change my mind. And I don't want any sentimental claptrap!"
"Okay. First of all, if they are captives instead of dead, then it would all be the same, since they cannot interfere with your plans, whatever it is!" Brick began. "Plus, the populace of Townsville would be more inclined to view you favorably, and thus, do you favors, if you spared the Powerpuff Girls."
"Plus, we won't make a martyr out of them," Butch added. "Prisoners tend to inspire less confidence and encouragement than the dead."
"Plus, we can use them as hostages and bargaining chips to whoever would try to stop you. Such a person would have to be moral and good, and would not want the Powerpuff Girls to be dead. Threatening their lives if he or she does not give-up would be a good bargaining chip, just as long as he doesn't know that we don't have any intention to kill them. Plus, showing mercy would encourage anyone who will oppose you to surrender, as capitulation would not mean instant death," Boomer added.
"And, if they are alive, then we might enlist them as allies! If not, then we can keep them indefinitely as a prize, and if you want, you can make their lives as miserable as you want!" Brick finished. "Besides, keeping them prisoner would give us the aura of invincibility and the hopelessness of resistance, without the hatred that would be caused by their murder."
"All those points are valid, boys," said Dr. Edwards, calming down as he listened to the arguments. "Okay, for your sake, I won't order you to kill them."
All three boys breathed a sigh of relief.
But the Doctor wasn't finished. "However, it would be your responsibility if anything bad happens as a result of this leniency. You will guard them, you hear? And make sure they won't escape. Understand? I repeat! UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES MUST THEY NOT ESCAPE?"
"Yes Dad!" Boomer said.
"I'll make sure they won't escape!" said Brick.
"They'll be trapped like a rat!" Butch added.
"Good. Because if they do, it will be your head that suffers!" Dr. Edwards warned. "Now, since you're a mess, let's go to the mediroom and treat you."
The boys, with the unconscious girls, followed Dr. Edwards to the mediroom. There, he put a cast on Boomer's twisted ankle, and put bandages around their bodies. He then put MFX formula over their bodies, which accelerated the healing process from a few days to a few hours. He did the same for the girls, although he made extra precautions so he won't get trouble from them when they wake up.
Ms. Lawrence arrived with the grocery an hour later. She was shocked at seeing the kids all in the medi-room for treatment, but after a bit of fussing over the boys, she went and cooked lunch. She was not one bit suspicious about anything happening, except the fact that Dr. Edwards is calling her Ms. Lawrence again instead of Tiffany.
B. Captors and Prisoners
Later…
Blossom opened her eyes, and tried to get up. Except that she couldn't. Her arms were strapped to the side by metallic straps, and her feet too. Then, there were metallic bands holding her body to the bed at the chest and at the waist. She tried to break the metal bonds, but she found out she couldn't. She also found out she was wearing some sort of goggles. She was lying on some sort of cushion, and her head was undoubtedly resting on a pillow, but it was pure hardetal under the cushion.
'Must be duranium or hardetal,' Blossom thought. Then she remembered everything: the fight, and their loss to the boys. And she remembered her agreement. 'Great, now I'm a prisoner of the boys! Not that it was the first time that this had happened, but back then, we were just playing, or playing pranks. Now it's for real.'
She raised her head to look over her to see her body. She noticed that all of her wounds were gone, and that she was in tip-top shape. She was still wearing the clothes she was wearing earlier in the morning, but it was dirtier. She looked to her left, where she saw Bubbles tied in the same position to the bed as she was, and she looked at her right, where she saw Buttercup too tied the same way. The exception was that since Buttercup was wearing jeans, her legs were spread-out and tied to opposite sides of the end of the metal bed. Bubbles was wearing a long dress, so her legs were strapped together, and strapped to the middle of the end of the bed. Her own legs, wearing a knee-length skirt, were tied the same way as Bubbles.
She decided to call whomever she could, but found out that she couldn't open her mouth. Some tape kept her mouth shut, but she nonetheless shouted. Since her mouth wasn't packed, there was a loud sound produced, not as loud as she would have liked, but at least there was some.
It apparently was enough, for Brick entered the room. "So the little ugly witch is awake?"
"Mmmpphhhh!" Blossom shouted through the tape, trying to say 'let go of me!'
"Sorry for the restraints, but we have to make sure you won't cause any trouble," said Brick. "Now, I'm going to remove that tape, so we can discuss your captivity. You have to promise not to use your ice-breathe, or scream, or I'll gag you even tighter, okay?"
Blossom was angry, but nodded nonetheless.
Brick carefully peeled the white medical tape from her lips.
"First of all, you have lost the fight, and as a result, you three are our prisoners!" Brick proclaimed. "And you agreed to Vae Victis, so you can't really complain about this. Besides, you've been our prisoners a couple of times before, I think, and several times you've been treated more roughly than you have been now."
"Well, we were playing back then!" Blossom replied. "So, how long do you plan on keeping us?"
"It depends," Brick replied. "Are you willing to forego your values and join us in our evil schemes?"
"Never! We would never let Townsville down!" Blossom replied.
"Then you just answered your own question."
"Huh?"
"Well, the answer to how long we intend to keep you," said Brick. "Since you answered never, then my answer to your question is, forever. Yes, as long as you oppose us, we can't let you go."
"Forever? Jeez! That surely is a long time!" Blossom mused. "Why don't you just kill us?"
"Oh you're more valuable to us alive than dead," Brick replied.
"Or you can't just kill us, since you won't be able to live with yourselves if you did," Blossom replied.
"Maybe, maybe not, whatever," Brick replied.
"Ha! I knew it! Anyway, are you planning on keeping us tied to the bed forever?"
"No. As I said before, we're going to keep you in the training room. As you well know, we, in the past, use it as a prison when we play before, and we know that the walls are made up of Hardetal and duranium, so there's no way you can escape using your superpowers!" said Brick.
"Okay, so you intend to keep me here. But what about the others! Like the Professor! Ms. Keane and Ms. Bellum? Won't they miss us and question you and your dad? How about Ms. Lawrence? What would she think when she sees us captive?"
"As for the Professor, let's just say he won't be a problem. It would be a very long time before Ms. Keane realized you're missing, and by the time that it happened, Dad would have probably have achieved his goals. As for Ms. Lawrence, she agreed to cooperate with us just this morning."
"Hey, Boomer, look, Brick is talking to his girlfriend!" Butch teased when he entered the mediroom and found Brick talking with Blossom.
Brick suddenly got red. "No, that isn't true! I'm just telling them the reality of their situation!"
"So what are we doing with them?" asked Boomer when he arrived. "We can't keep them here."
"Well, we better—look, Buttercup and Bubbles have awoken!" Brick exclaimed.
Both of Blossom's sister woke up, and were very surprised at finding themselves strapped to a duranium—or was it hardetal?—bed. Buttercup had a murderous look on her face, and judging from the sound behind the tape over her mouth, more than a few choice words for the boys if she can properly talk. Bubbles simply had a sad look on her face, and simply looked at the situation.
"I think we better keep Buttercup gagged until she calms down," said Butch. "I don't want to hear what she's gonna shout!"
"But I think Bubbles would be more manageable," Boomer said. "I think we can remove the tape, don't you think, Brick?"
"I guess so," said Brick.
Boomer then removed the tape from Bubbles' mouth.
"Thanks, Boomer" she said, stretching her jaw. "I promise I won't scream. Are you gonna let us go?"
"No. We need to keep you here until this blows over. We can't risk you disrupting Dad's plans, you know," said Boomer. "But don't worry. We'll treat you as best as we can considering the situation. However, we will not take any chances and let you escape, understand?"
Bubbles nodded.
"And I promise that me and my brothers would not in any way hurt you except in a fair fight. We have never hurt you before when you were our captives when we were friends, and we won't hurt you now that you're our captives and our enemies," Boomer said with a combination of gentleness and firmness that reassured Bubbles that they won't be hurt, not that she needed reassuring that she won't be, at the same time telling her that he would not tolerate her escaping.
"Okay, we're now going to escort you to the training room," said Brick. "I trust you will find it as comfortable as your home considering the circumstances." He then released the straps on her wrists, on her chest and on her waist holding her to the bed. Blossom then sat up.
"Aren't you gonna remove the straps on my ankles?" asked Blossom.
"Yes, but a couple of points to ensure that you won't be able to escape while being led to the room," said Brick.
"Can't you just trust me when I say, 'I won't try to escape'?" asked Blossom.
"And you'd think I'd trust you to keep that promise now that we're enemies?"
"No," said Blossom.
"Then put your hands behind you," Brick ordered.
C. The Training Room
Blossom sighed in defeat as she did as told, and Boomer took a length of rope and neatly tied her hands tightly behind her. It wasn't a new experience being tied-up by Brick, but before, they weren't enemies. After her wrists had been secured, they finally released the ankle straps. She was led out of the bed, where an anti-gravity belt was strapped on her waist.
"Boomer, you remain here and watch them. Butch and I will March Blossom to her prison. Okay, Blossom, march!" he ordered.
Blossom did as told. Butch marched before her, while Brick was behind her, so there was no way she could run away. Anyway, they soon reached the training room. Butch pressed a bunch of numbers on a keypad besides the door, opening it, and revealing a narrow room with another door. Blossom was able to see the numerical combination and stored it in her memory. 5-6-4-2-8. They entered, and Brick closed the door using the same code. He then entered a bunch of numbers on the second door, and Blossom's eye was quick enough to see the numerical code Brick used. '7-6-8-1-5,' she thought, and quickly stored it too in her memory.
"And I can easily open the second door from outside, you know," said Brick.
They entered, and Blossom was surprised as seeing the training room. The training room was as large as a dancing hall. There were three beds with three mattresses and three thick blankets near one side. There were three large trunks besides each of the beds. There was a large table, with four swivel chairs around it. There was a TV with VCR and DVD player with several video tapes and DVDs beside it. There were three large empty drawers on the walls, and a large mirror besides the left most bed. There was even a PC, with no internet connection, in another corner. And there was a huge carpet in the middle of it. And at another part of the wall there was a huge bookshelf, where all of Blossom's books were located. On another corner of the room were all the girls' toys, dolls and stuffed toys.
"We went to your house a few hours ago to pick-up your things," said Butch. "We explained to the Professor what happened, and he agreed—"
"The Professor! I want to see the Professor!" Blossom suddenly said.
"Oh I'm betting you wouldn't want to see him right now. You'd be heartbroken," said Brick.
"Why wouldn't I want to see him? He's our father for crying out loud! And I'd bet he'd get us out of here, and rescue us from your clutches!" Blossom shouted.
"I don't think so. Why, I'd leave you to figure out, but personally, I don't think you would want to know what really happened to him," said Butch. "Anyway, he agreed to let us take your things here—seeing as this room would be your new permanent home from now on. You of course know that there is a bathroom at the far side of this training room. All of your clothes and all your possessions are in those trunks. I think this would make your stay here a little less uncomfortable, don't you think?"
"Plus, you can borrow any of my books if you want to, and the list is in the bookshelf. You can request anything from us, just as long as it won't help in your escape. These walls, as you know, is made up of hardetal, so there is no way you can get away from here," said Brick.
"Wow! Thanks! I guess. Who hit you in the head and made you think of such insignificant matters as our comfort while in captivity? Surely, a small empty cell with a cot and nothing else but Hardetal walls would suffice, and be cheaper too?" asked Blossom.
"It was mostly Boomer's idea, so thank him," said Brick as he untied Blossom's hands and removed the belt.
"How about our meals?" asked Blossom while rubbing her sore wrists.
"Well, we'll serve you meal every seven o'clock in the morning, at one in the afternoon, and at eight in the evening," said Brick.
"Of course, unless you misbehave, that is," added Butch.
"What do you mean?" asked Blossom.
"If you try to escape, or cause trouble for us, then I assure you Blossom, you and your sisters would have less use of your limbs than you'd want to," said Brick. "You know what I mean. And I think you know that at this point, escape is impossible, so don't try it, because the consequences of failure for you is indeed, high."
"Well, we're going to fetch your sisters, so enjoy your new prison, er, I mean, home," said Butch as he and his brother left the training room, closing both doors behind her. Blossom simply went and explored the gigantic room.
D. Making Plans
Ten minutes later, the second door opened, though the first one remained closed. There, in that small room, was Bubbles, her hands tied behind her back but with no anti-gravity belt, and Buttercup, like Bubbles but with the tape on her mouth. Both quickly entered the room, and the second door slammed close. Blossom quickly untied the both her sisters' hands and removed the tape from Buttercup's mouth.
"Why the next time, I'm going to show those boys a thing or two! What the? How the heck did our stuff get here?" asked Buttercup with eyes wide open.
"Well, it was the Rowdyruff's idea in the first place," said Blossom.
"Octi!" Bubbles shouted as she saw her stuffed animal from the pile of toys, and quickly went to her bed and began bouncing up and down. "Yipee!"
"Now what?" asked Buttercup.
"Well, first we put our clothes on the drawers and dressers, then we plot our next move," said Blossom.
The girls then spent the next hour or so fixing the training room to their liking.
It was eight o'clock when Ms. Lawrence arrived with a large tray with food on it. It was still hot. She set the food on the table, and left.
The girls quickly at the food, and they settled in their new home. An hour later, Ms. Lawrence went to pick up the dishes.
"Wow! The TV even has cable!" said Buttercup as she took the remote and changed the channel to AXN. Bubbles grabbed the remote back and put it on Cartoon Network.
"Well, you can have the TV," said Buttercup, "there's nothing on that is good anyway." She left Bubbles to watch TV while she went to the computer to play some games.
"Okay girls, I think it's time for a meeting," said Blossom.
"Later Blossom, Looney Tunes it not over yet!" said Bubbles, giggling at watching the funny antics of Bugs Bunny.
"Yeah, I'm kinda busy right now," said Buttercup as she concentrated on beating the crap of her enemies in the game she was playing.
Blossom, infuriated at the lack of concern by her sisters, went and pulled the plug from the socket of both the TV and the computer.
"Hey, I was watching that!" Bubbles complained.
"And I wasn't finished playing!" Buttercup whined.
"Really! We're captives, prisoners, and all you can think of is watching TV and playing computer games? I'm seriously thinking that all those comforts the boys gave us is a really bad idea!" said Blossom. "We've got to plan our next move!"
"Well, okay, but sheesh! You don't have to pull out the plug on the computer!" Buttercup replied.
"Or the TV!" said Bubbles.
"Oh nevermind. Okay, first, we have three objectives. First is that we have got to escape from here," said Blossom. "Second, we have got to somehow try and free Dr. Edwards from whatever thing that is controlling his mind."
"Wouldn't it be easier if we tried to persuade them that their Dad was possessed?" asked Bubbles.
"We already did that," Blossom said. "And for some reason, they believed that Dr. Edwards chose to be willingly evil!"
"Which is totally bonkers!" said Bubbles. "How can they believe such a thing? I know they are totally loyal, but it just isn't them to believe that!"
"Maybe the something that made Dr. Edwards evil made them believe that their Dad can turn to evil? Maybe the Rowdyruffs themselves became evil," said Buttercup.
"Well, if the boys really were evil, then we'd be dead by now. Other than turning against us, they didn't change at all. There is no evidence that the Rowdyruff Boys are possessed. More likely, there is something that the whoever was behind all this showed to the boys that convinced them of their father's treachery," Blossom explained.
Blossom continued. "The next objective is after we found out what possessed Dr. Edwards, is to bring him back to normal. Because, if we bring the old Dr. Edwards back, then the boys would come back to us. Because that's the only reason why they turned against us," Blossom explained.
"Okay. So, we stay here, talk and observe the boys, and try to observe as much of Dr. Edwards, and try to gain as much information about what convinced the boys to believe Dr. Edwards willingly became evil, then try to find out who controlled Dr. Edwards, then free him of it?" asked Buttercup.
"No. First and foremost is we escape!" Blossom said.
"Escape? Hello? Look, it's not that I'm opposed to escaping. I'm not. But how can we observe them and gain information about Dr. Edwards when we're hiding from them? I think a better plan is that we should just sit here and relax. All we have to do is observe, talk, and enjoy our captivity. I mean, we don't have any chores to do, we don't have to fight anyone, we can simply watch TV, or play video games, or in your case Blossom, read books, while we simply try and extract information from them. I mean, sooner or later, one of the boys, or even Ms. Lawrence or Dr. Edwards himself might tell us what's really going on here."
"You've got a plan?" asked Blossom sceptically. "I thought you only want to charge head on towards the enemy and beat the crap out without any plan whatsoever."
"True, but I don't consider the Rowdyruffs or Dr. Edwards as our real enemies," said Buttercup as she lay down the couch, put the plug on the TV and began channel surfing. "Besides, you can't beat the crap out of Duranium walls, you know. There is a fine line between aggressive bravery, and blatant stupidity."
"Which, by the way, you have crossed many times. Buttercup, how many times have you ignored my plans, or that of Brick's, and charged headlong into a stonewall, and nearly getting yourself and others killed in the process? Ah, so at last, after all those years that I kept cramming that lesson on your puny head, you finally saw the light?" replied Blossom.
"I saw the light way before you even opened your eyes," Buttercup countered. "Most of the failures that you have talked about would've worked if you just supported my thrusts. One head might not break a wall, but three, or perhaps six, might just do it! Going around in circles, like most of your complex plans, isn't going to do anything other than annoy the enemy. Anyway, that doesn't change the fact that attempting an escape is futile."
"Why is that?" asked Blossom.
"I'll tell you later during the commercial! Right now, it's my favorite show!" said Buttercup as her eyes were glued to the TV. "Besides, since our TV is here, if we escape, where can we watch our favorite shows?"
"Grrr. What? All this is happening and all you can think of is your TV?" Blossom asked.
Buttercup decided to tick Blossom off. "Yeah, so?"
But Blossom didn't bite. "Look, the reason why I wanted us to escape is that because we can operate more freely when we are free, rather than as captives! Besides, how can we stop whatever evil scheme those people are doing? Yes, we need to drive out the evil from them, but while we haven't done that yet, we need to stop what they are trying to do! Whatever it is! Besides, if we are free we can fight them."
"Fight them?" asked Bubbles sceptically. "But can we win?"
"Of course! The last fight was a close run thing! The only reason they won is that they combined themselves to hit Buttercup all at once, knocking her out of the fight. It's really brilliant, and really simple."
Buttercup's eyes lit up. "A fight? Now kicking the crap out of someone is something I enjoy more than watching endless TV violence! Okay, you've got my attention. How do we escape?"
"I knew you'd see it from my point of view, Buttercup. Here's our battle plan. We immediately make the Fiery Furious Feline, and take out one of them!" Blossom added.
"Yeah, but when and how do we escape?" asked Bubbles.
"Oh, we can escape anytime we want," said Blossom. "Looking at the situation, it's deceptively simple. Now, there are two opportunities, really, when we can easily escape. The first one is when Ms. Lawrence delivers our food, and the second one is when she takes our dishes out. Now, I know the code for the keypads of this door, so I can easily open it if I get to the room between the two doors, which, as our situation shows, is very easy. All I have to do is get there, and we're home free."
"But what about Ms. Lawrence? Are we going to knock her out?" asked Bubbles.
"Heaven's no! I'll simply go to that room as fast as I can. So fast, in fact that she won't really notice me except as a gust of wind. I'll attach myself in the ceiling while she gets out. Then, when I'm alone, I'll simply dial the numbers on the keypad, then we can escape. After which, we challenge the boys! Using my new strategy, we can surely win!"
"And what do we do when we defeat them?" asked Bubbles.
"Oh, we turn the tables, and we take them prisoner as a result!" said Blossom.
"But where do we keep them?" asked Buttercup.
"In the Professor's training room," said Blossom.
"Of course!" Buttercup exclaimed.
"And I can't wait to see the Professor! It's been a long time since we last saw him!" said Bubbles.
"Yeah, more like just less than twelve hours," said Buttercup. "But I bet he's very worried about us! I wonder what's he's thinking? Maybe he's cooking up some crazy scheme to rescue us!"
"Puh-leeze! We don't need to be rescued! But I kinda miss him too," said Blossom. "Anyway, if the boys are our captives, then they won't be able to stop us, and we can interrogate them and find out just what convinced them that Dr. Edwards became evil. Then, with Professor Utonium's help, we go and try to remove that evil, and when he comes to, Dr. Edwards I mean, then the boys would come back to us, and things become very interesting, not to mention easy, after that."
"That's great!" Bubbles exclaimed upon hearing of her leader's plan.
"Well, we better get some sleep," Blossom said as she went and took her toothbrush from her trunk, and brushed her teeth. "I suggest you do the same."
"Aw, couldn't we stay late and watch TV?" asked Bubbles.
"Or play in the computer?" Buttercup added.
"No! You go to sleep right now! That's an order!" she shouted.
"Spoil-sport!" Buttercup muttered, but did as told. So did Bubbles.
They then washed themselves, changed to their nightgowns, and went to bed.
E. A New Ally
The next day, July 18, was at first, really slow. The boys never visited the girls, while the girls waited for the opportunity to escape to arrive. As usual, during seven in the morning and one in the afternoon, Ms. Lawrence delivered their food. The girls wore the same kind of clothes they wore the day before, with only the color differing. Blossom spent the time reading one of her books, while Bubbles played with her stuffed animals, and Buttercup alternated between watching TV and playing in the computer.
At eight o'clock in the evening, new developments surprised the Powerpuff Girls.
The girls were already in their tables, waiting for dinner. Ms. Lawrence came in time, and delivered the food.
"Another excellent dinner, Ms. Lawrence," Bubbles complemented as she eyed the dishes she was about to eat.
"Why thank you!" said Ms. Lawrence. "Anyway, if you want to escape, I suggest you do it tonight, at nine. Because William, the boys, and I are going to the Mayor's office. Some meeting, I think."
"That's great!" Buttercup exclaimed. "But why are you helping us? I thought Brick said to Blossom that you went along with them."
"Quite frankly, I was shocked, and I don't like what they are doing," said Ms. Lawrence. "And that man, whoever he is, is not William Edwards! He's evil, I'm telling you! He's not the William I know these past years. Why the boys think that he's him baffles me, but I'm telling you, he's not him! He's even got these black inverted V mark on his forehead!"
"The inverted V mark! Just like Mr. Kaczinsci, the Mayor and Ms. Bellum! So they are only acting and pretending to be them just to fool us when we interviewed them!" Blossom gasped. "Butch is right all along! Look, the Mayor, Ms. Bellum, Mr. Kaczinsci, the entire police force, and now Dr. Edwards. Can't you see? These people control Townsville. And now, Townsville is in the hands of whatever evil took over them!"
"Well, duh!" Buttercup exclaimed. "Congratulations because you just stated the glaringly obvious!"
"I decided to pretend to go along with them, because opposing them so openly would do no good," said Ms. Lawrence. "Anyway, can you escape at about nine? Because I don't want them to think that I'm involved in your escape."
"Don't worry, we won't let you down," said Blossom. "Okay, we'll escape at nine tonight."
"Okay, do you need my help in getting out of here? If you want, I'll leave this door open," said Ms. Lawrence.
"No. I've got a plan. All you have to do is do your usual routine and we'll take care of the rest. That way, you can believably deny that you know anything about our escape plans."
"Do you know the code for the keypad?" asked Ms. Lawrence.
"Yes I know. Don't ask me how, I just know," said Blossom.
"Well, good luck then," Ms. Lawrence left and came back thirty minutes later to get the empty plates. When she opened the second door, Blossom rushed as fast as she can and hovered in the ceiling. She was so fast that it took only a second, and Ms. Lawrence didn't notice anything other than a sudden gust of wind. Ms. Lawrence shrugged and closed the second door, then opened the first door, went out, and closed the first door. After both doors were closed, Blossom went down and sat on the floor. She looked at her watch. It was eight-thirty.
F. Meeting of the Powers that Be
Meanwhile…
It was eight forty-five when Dr. Edwards, Ms. Lawrence, and the boys arrived at City Hall. Dr. Edwards wore a black suit, vest, tie, and hat, with a white shirt underneath. Their Dad insisted that they dress up properly for a meeting with the Mayor, so Brick wore a dark brown suit with vest, a red tie, and a fedora. Boomer wore a dark blue suit, with a bright blue tie, but no vest and no hat like his brother and father. His jacket was buttoned-up until the chest. Butch wore a dark green suit, but like Boomer, he had no vest and no tie, and unlike Boomer, it wasn't buttoned at all. They then went to the Mayor's office, where the Mayor and Ms. Bellum were already waiting. There was a large round table with chairs arranged around it.
"Ah, William, congratulations to you and your boys for taking care of the Powerpuff Girls. Sit down, sit down. We'll wait for the others so we can begin meeting."
Soon, Police Chief Kaczinsci, his three most senior police officers, and Professor Utonium arrived.
It was eight-fifty-five. "Okay, first of all, as you know, the main threat to our plans, the Powerpuff Girls, had been eliminated by the Rowdyruff Boys," the Mayor began.
The others clapped, while the boys simply nodded.
"Anyway, first of all, we should discuss the order of business," said Ms. Bellum. "Ms. Lawrence, can you go and take notes for this meeting? I know it'd be easier to just record it in tape, but I'd rather not have such evidence around."
"Gladly," she replied, and she took the notebook and pen handed to her for that purpose.
"Anyway, we are here to plan our next move to serve the master. Now, we know that what we're looking for is located deep beneath the city, on a radius of a thousand yards in the center of the city, buried at least a thousand feet under," said the Mayor, looking on a map. "Now, we have gained sufficient control of the city that we can begin operations. First, we need to expel all those people living in the area. How many is living in the Central district?"
"About one hundred thousand," said Mr. Kaczinsci.
"Yes, and would your police be willing to remove, and if they resist, kill those citizens that resists being taken away from their homes?" asked Ms. Bellum.
"Of course. But I don't think we have enough loyal police to be able to handle it, and time is short," said Kaczinsci.
"How many policemen do you have in your disposal?" asked the Mayor.
"1,500, fully armed effectives. All of them, like us, controlled by the master, and loyal," said Kaczinsci.
"That would be enough. Anyway, after we clear out the people in the area, the next step is to demolish the buildings and all structures in the area. Doctor Edwards, do you have enough equipment, or if not, do you have the money to pay a demolition company to demolish all those buildings, and clear the area?" asked Ms. Bellum.
"Of course," said Dr. Edwards. "And if that isn't enough, the Rowdyruff Boys could be used."
"Good. Now, can you please hand me your report on the buildings and the foundations of the center of the city?" asked the Mayor.
"Of course," said Dr. Edwards, getting his briefcase and putting it on the table. He opened it, and began shuffling it.
"Well, where is it?" asked the Professor.
"Well, I forgot to put it in my briefcase!" said the Doctor after failing to find it. "I thought I put it in there! Must have been too much coffee!"
"You twit! I need that report to plan our next move!" the Mayor said.
"Sorry sir. But don't worry, I can easily retrieve it for you. Boys, get the documents. It's in my desk at my room in a blue folder with my name on it. Here are the keys to my room. Go! Now!" Dr. Edwards ordered.
"Yes Dad," the Rowdyruff Boys said, as they rushed out of the building to retrieve what his father forgot.
It was nine-o'clock when that happened.
G. The Escape Attempt
Meanwhile…
Blossom looked at her watch. It was 8:57. She then stood up, and pressed appropriate numbers on the keypad. The second door opened, and she went in their training room. Buttercup was watching a Terminator movie, while Bubbles was slumped on her bed, sleeping.
"Bubbles, Buttercup, it's time!" said Blossom.
"Right," said Buttercup as she switched the TV off.
"Bubbles, wake-up!" said Blossom.
Bubbles rubbed her eyes, and yawned, but nevertheless woke up.
The three girls silently flew to the room between the closed first door and open second door. Blossom punched a series of numbers on the keypad, and opened the first door.
"Yes, we're home free!" said Buttercup.
"Not yet we're not!" said Blossom as they walked silently towards the front door of the house. Once they are on the door, Bubbles remembered something.
"Wait!" Bubbles whispered. "I forgot to bring Octi with me!"
"Forget that stuffed animal!" Buttercup sneered. "Let's get out of here!"
"No! I can't leave Octi here!" she whined.
"Okay, okay, you can get it, but hurry. We'll wait for you outside," Blossom instructed.
The girls stepped out of the house, but they were discovered.
"Look, the girls! After them!" Brick shouted.
"Come on," said Blossom, as she and Buttercup flew to the forest at the back of the house.
"Oh no! Not another fight!" Butch said. "Dad will kill us if he finds out that they escaped."
"How the hell did you escape?" asked Brick.
"Well, that's for us to know, and you to find out," said Blossom.
"Well, you won't escape and run away that easy!" Brick suggested.
"Who said anything about running away? We're here to fight you on fair terms, and this time, we're going to kick your butt!" Blossom shouted.
"Well, three on two ain't a fair fight, and believe me, we won't fight fair if we can help it," said Butch.
"Two on two, two on two," said Buttercup. "Because Boomer's isn't with you, and Bubbles would join us soon enough!"
"Huh? Where's Boomer?" asked Brick when he realized that Boomer isn't with them.
Boomer, instead of following Brick and Butch to the forest, had an idea. He went inside the house, to his father's medical cabinet, and got a bottle with the label, Chloroform. He took his handkerchief from his pocket, and soaked it with the substance.
"Girls, I got Octi!" Bubbles shouted as ran towards the front door. Boomer heard it and quickly put the bottle in his pocket, and put himself between the door and Bubbles.
"Go back," Boomer warned.
"No!" Bubbles said, and tried for the door. Boomer sidestepped, as Bubbles lunged for the exit. Boomer wrapped his left arm around Bubbles waist, while he used his right to press the chloroform soaked handkerchief against her nose. Bubbles was surprised by the wet handkerchief pressed against her mouth, and soon inhaled it. She weakened, and finally, slumped on the floor, unconscious.
Boomer then removed his necktie, and tied Bubbles' hands behind her with it. He then went to the Training Room, was surprised to find it open, put her inside, and closed the door without untying her.
Boomer then went and found out that the other four were confronting each other.
Meanwhile…
"Well, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" said Butch.
"Okay, Buttercup, we simply fight until Bubbles arrives, then we do the Fiery Furious Feline on Brick, okay?" Blossom barked.
"Got you!" Buttercup said, and attacked Butch. Blossom attacked Brick.
Boomer saw the pairs fighting. He quickly took the Chloroform bottle and put the last of it's contents into the handkerchief, soaking it completely. He quickly went to where Buttercup and Butch were fighting, and quickly grabbed Buttercup from behind. Before she could react, Butch, seeing the advantage, punched her in the face. Boomer then pressed the handkerchief soaked with chloroform into her mouth and nose, and seconds later, she was unconscious. Boomer quickly buried the wet cloth in his pocket to avoid accidentally using it on his brothers.
Buttercup fell to the ground.
"Hey, Buttercup's taken care of," Butch shouted to the fighting Brick and Blossom.
Both stopped fighting to see what had happened to the others.
Blossom was shocked. "Buttercup! How did you knock her out so quickly?"
"It doesn't matter now, Blossom," said Boomer. "I also took care of Bubbles, and she is now in the training room."
"Well, surrender now," said Brick.
"Why should I?" asked Blossom.
"Because you have no chance. Because even if you three got together, it would still have been an easy win for us," said Brick.
"Why is that?" asked Blossom.
"Because what we're wearing now and most of our clothes, except the one we wore in the first fight, is made up of hardetal, and as you know, acts as a kind of armor. So you couldn't hurt us except in the face," said Brick. "Plus, when we took your clothes, all your hardetal armor clothes we took and hid in a place you can't find. All your clothes that we gave you are just made up of cloth that doesn't break when you fight, but it doesn't give you protection. What it means is, of course, is that we can physically hurt you, while you can't hurt us."
"Okay, I give up," said Blossom, sighing in defeat, after seeing the hopelessness of her situation. It doesn't make sense to get beat-up when there was no hope of winning, or even escaping.
"Good," said Brick. "Boomer, where the hell's your tie?"
"Oh, I used it to tie Bubbles up," said Boomer. "No pun intended."
"Well, Butch, pick up Buttercup," ordered Brick as he grabbed Blossom's right hand, and Boomer grabbed her left hand.
Blossom sighed as she was led back to the house. When they were there, Boomer tied her hands behind her back with hardetal rope, strapped an anti-gravity belt on her waist, and put goggles on her eyes. Boomer did the same with Buttercup. They then marched Blossom, while carrying the unconscious Buttercup, to the training room. There, Boomer removed his tie from Bubbles' hands, and replaced it with rope. They also strapped anti-gravity belts and goggles on her. They put them on their beds and tucked them in.
Then, the boys, left.
"Hey, aren't you gonna untie us now that we're in this prison?" asked Blossom.
"Look, I have no idea how you escaped, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, count yourselves lucky we didn't tie your feet and gag you too," said Brick as he was leaving.
"But how will we eat, change clothes, be able to wash, and do stuff here?" asked Blossom.
"You should've thought about that before you made your escape attempt," said Brick coldly before switching off the light and closing the door.
Blossom sighed bitterly as she went to her bed, and lay on it. She was not able to put the blankets over her, so she just lay above it and soon fell asleep.
I. A Close Call
Meanwhile…
"That was so close! Another minute and they would've flown the coop! And if the girls escape, we are dead, I tell you! Dad is going to kill us if that happened," Boomer said.
"Well, Dad must never know about this escape attempt. You won't tell him, understand?" Boomer ordered.
Both of his brothers nodded.
"Good. Boomer, you go and change your tie. Butch, stay here, I'm going to get the blue folder," said Brick.
Both brothers did as told. Brick took the blue folder from Dr. Edwards' room and the three boys went back to the Mayor's office.
"What took you so long?" Dr. Edwards shouted. "The reason I sent you is because you're supposed to be fast! If I wanted the blue folder delivered as slow as you did, then I might have sent Tiffany Lawrence instead! Now what's your excuse?"
"Well, Dad, um you see—" Brick began, searching his brain for a plausible explanation.
"What? You decided to watch TV for a few minutes before returning?" Dr. Edwards asked.
"No, you see, well, oh yes, we watched TV. Sorry Dad," apologized Brick.
"Typical!" said Dr. Edwards. "Give me the folder."
Boomer handed him the blue folder.
"Here Mayor," said Dr. Edwards, handing it to the Mayor.
"Good," said the Mayor.
The meeting continued, and they finalized their plans that they'll implement on a poor and unsuspecting Townsville the following day.
